MACRO

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  Presentation Title Slide

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  Full Circuit Assembly

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  Controller Shell 3D Model

Inspiration

One of our team members was born with a fine motor skill deficit, defined by Google as "the impairment, delay, or inability to perform precise voluntarily and coordinated movements of the small muscles in hands, fingers, and wrists." While our member did get therapy for this deficit as a kid, they grew up having games be inaccessible, frustrating, and an overall negative experience. We took this anecdote into account while brainstorming ideas, and wanted to cater to a younger demographic who might go through the same thing.

What it does and how we built it

We built MACRO using a Raspberry Pi Pico and piezoelectric sensor to make 2D gaming easier for those with motor deficiency skills. It features a joystick, a button, and an analog sensor that can be used as inputs. The analog sensor uses the aforementioned piezo to read user inputs that may be required in precise events (such as jumping), while the button is used for less responsive occurrences (like using an item).

Challenges we ran into

For the piezoelectric sensor, the output voltage would peak at 20-25V. This was a big challenge, since the Raspberry Pi Pico's ADCs can only handle up to 3.3V. Our first thought was to use a zener diode, but they are a pretty uncommon component, so we didn't have any luck finding one. Our only other option was to create a resistor ladder, of which was done so by implementing a voltage divider. We had to use Ohm's Law and Kirchoff's Voltage Law to determine the proper resistance to limit the current accordingly. We ended up using a 1M Ohm and 10M Ohm in series, and we were successful in our calculations.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We are proud of the work we managed to get done in the time frame. We created a 3D model, got a working prototype, and were able to properly test it despite not having a printed version of said model.

What we learned

12 words.

What's next for MACRO

Our biggest goal for MACRO is to have it go beyond a prototype. During the hackathon, we were not able to use the HID protocol to have the Pico be read as a gamepad, so that is our first milestone to achieve.

Built With

• blender
• c
• putty
• raspberry-pi
• waveforms